Let me start by saying that I am not an expert, but I share a home with one. Paul, the bone spur is not caused by the accident. Bone spurs are not related to trauma. They take a lot of time to develop. The headaches on the other hand, probably are related. Your wife needs to see a specialist, probably a neurologist.

I am glad to hear State Farm has been taking care of you. Their motto often holds true doesn't it, especially if you have a good relationship with your agent. Your claim rep should be the one receiving KUDOS for taking care of you though.

As far as the other company goes, my wife guessed which company it was on the first try. :p

So, before seeing a lawyer, go see a neurologist. Have your family Doctor recommend one, if it needs be. Do not allow the family Doctor to try to diagnose it, unless he or she is an expert in that arena.

One thing to keep in mind is a threatening a lawsuit will not get you anywhere. You can just get in line when it comes to filing suit. As a matter of fact, threatening a lawsuit will often cause them to drag their feet even more, and will often bring negotiations to a standstill. Once a lawyer is involved, the other party's insurance company can't talk to you about it anymore.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from contacting a lawyer, because you might need to. You need to establish what the problem is first. Bare in mind, not only will a lawyer take a large chunk of the settlement, he may take it all. A lawyer will get a percentage, plus expenses. The expenses can often be more than the claim itself. Plus, in most cases, the at fault status is not 100% and 0%. A jury may determine that you did not do everything you could do to avoid the accident. They then decide that you are 40% at fault and the other person is 60% at fault. That $10,000 claim just became worth 6 grand. Now deduct your lawyers 40% and you get $3600. Now deduct expenses, you see where I am going. But like you said, you are not trying to make some lawyer rich.

You should ask your claim rep, not your agent, but your claim rep what the statutes of limitations are in Texas, assuming the accident occured there. The claim rep may tell you that he or she cannot give legal advice. They also may tell you it is a year or two years, or whatever it may be.

Good luck with it. Let us know what happens.